Systems for detecting the existence of a given phenomenon, for example a radar target, have long been operated in an environment where the performance of the signal processor is limited by noise within the environment which results in false alarms from the signal processor. It has thus been of utmost importance to maintain a constant false alarm rate in signal processors.
Several implementations of signal processors with constant false alarm rates exist in the prior art; however, these implementations have required that all available sensor inputs must provide data to the signal processor in order to maintain a constant false alarm probability for the system. The failure of any sensor to report data to the signal processor will result in a varying probability of false alarm, thus degrading the performance of either an automated detection system or a human operator.
Furthermore, some implementations in the prior art have required that the sensor provide all input data to the fusion processor instead of a sensor decision on the existence of the test phenomenon. In these cases, the fusion processor is often overloaded with complex calculations which impact on the operating speed of the system.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a data fusion system for determining whether a test phenomenon has occurred based on multiple sensor decisions.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a data fusion system having a constant probability of false alarm while maintaining a maximum probability of detection.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a data fusion system having robust operation when the reliability of any sensor deviates from its expected value.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a data fusion system wherein only sensor decisions are presented to the fusion processor.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a data fusion system having the capability of processing missing sensor decisions while maintaining a constant probability of false alarm.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a data fusion system having fast, real-time operation.